Last week, at a meeting on the Republican campaign trail, a white woman in the audience voiced her concerns about Obama. “I have read about him,” she explaining, pointing out that “he’s an Arab.” Though McCain was quick to correct her, his response was curious: “No, ma’am, he’s a decent family man and citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with over fundamental issues.” Somehow, “family man” and “Arab” came across as mutually exclusive concepts. The audience didn’t seem to notice—it followed the remark with a hearty round of applause.

This implication that there is something innately sinister or undesirable about Arabs, and by extension Islam (to those leveling them, the “epithets” of “Arab” and “Muslim” are synonymous) is, unfortunately, nothing new. For all its promises of change, hope, and inclusiveness, this campaign year has been shot through with a surprisingly virulent strain of prejudice and intolerance. The combination of anti-Arabic tensions arising from our nation’s war in the Middle East and a presidential candidate with a “terrorist” name has lent itself to a mushroom cloud of anti-Islamic sentiment, sanctioned by an unquestioning public.

The issue is non-partisan. While trumpeting its candidate’s multicultural background and commitment to every social class, the Obama campaign has also taken pains to distance itself from Islam in an attempt to appeal to voters on the fence. A page of its “Fight the Smears” Web site, entitled “The Truth About Obama’s Faith,” for example, states that “shameful, shadowy attackers have been lying about Barack’s religion, claiming he is a Muslim instead of a committed Christian.” That this rhetoric both contrasts committed Christianity with Islam and draws a mental association between Obama’s “shameful, shadowy” opponents and Muslims is no accident.

On another occasion, in response to allegations that he secretly practices Islam, Obama retorted: “Let’s make clear what the facts are: I am a Christian. I have been sworn in with a Bible...I lead the pledge of allegiance sometimes in the United States Senate when I’m presiding.” The question did not have anything to do with the pledge of allegiance; to even raise the topic sustains the false opposition between Islam on the one hand and patriotism on the other.

All of this puts Obama-supporting Muslims in a tight spot. As the election draws near, many have adopted a “wait-and-see” policy: They hold off on doing anything that might provide more fuel for his detractors, yet secretly hope for his acknowledgement. “A lot of us are waiting for him to say that there’s nothing wrong with being a Muslim,” admitted Rep. Keith Ellison, the country’s first Muslim congressman, in July.

The political climate thus far makes it unlikely that the Obama campaign will directly acknowledge the legitimacy of Islam and the Muslim vote, at least not anytime before Nov. 5. Part of this has to do with the 13 percent of independent voters who believe that Obama is a Muslim; as long as the possibility exists that this perception will jeopardize his chance of winning undecided votes, Obama’s campaign will prioritize disabling the rumor mill over dismantling religious stereotypes.

The other motive for keeping mum has to do with the simplistic and largely negative characterization of Islam and the Arab world post-9/11, to which the government itself must plead guilty. Though few have gone as far as televangelist Pat Robertson, who called the prophet Muhammad “an absolute wild-eyed fanatic…a killer,” or Fox News personality Sean Hannity, who compared the Quran to Mein Kampf, the idea persists that there is something possibly threatening, and definitely unsettling, about Islam.

Correcting public misconceptions is certainly a worthy goal—it is important that voters are informed about the person for whom they cast their ballots. But if the process of debunking entails alienating and even implicitly vilifying part of the population, it is time to reconsider one’s tactics. In his rush to get the “facts” straight, Obama, along with McCain and the media, has only reinforced the infuriating notion that Muslims are something less than true Americans. This election has been a celebration of diversity on issues of race, gender, and geography—why not religion?



Jessica A. Sequeira ‘11, a Crimson editorial writer, lives in Winthrop House.